SDEtv: George Michael / Listen Without Prejudice unboxing video

Video unboxing of all three physical formats

Out last Friday (and apparently heading for number one in the UK album charts!) is the reissue of George Michael‘s 1990 album, Listen Without Prejudice. It’s available as a 3CD+DVD box set, two-CD edition and 180g vinyl LP. SDE has taken a look at all formats and you can watch the unboxing video below…

I bought the 3 CD +DVD.I am very disappointed of the bonus disc, nearly all titles are coming from vinyl, the sound is not good at all.
The CD1 has been remastered but the quality is not good either, you can hear for instance for the title SOUL FREE cracking sounds in both CD (remastered and not remastered).
Not serious to propose such a bad quality in 2018 !!!

Not sure if anyone addressed this before (if so, i’m sorry ). I still didn’t get a chanse to listen to this reissue from a physical mediaformat yet. But I listened to it from streamingservices, like Tidal HiFi and Spotify. I noticed to my surprise that the volume is notably low, just like the original CD version. Mostly, one of the benefits of remastering is that the volume will be more powerful and crispy, besides all the other improvements. Did anyone else notice this? Is it the same if listening to the CD reissue? Or did the streamingservices accidentally link this reissue to the old albums sourcefiles…? The bonus discs have much better improvements i think.

I read some comments above of people saying the songs on the Unplugged disc are shorter than the original Unplugged version. That is true. I have the actual Unplugged CD release (it was quite rare, got it from a sales bin somewhere!), I don’t think it is an official release but it looks and sounds 100% genuine. The difference is mostly because some chatter has been cut off or some applause has been added on the back end.

Hi Paul, thank you for the unboxing video (comparisons)! Why other would think it’s comparing the audio contents/quality is beyond me? I only got the SDE so I didn’t know about the 2 CD version & vinyl record but I could see them in your video. I opened my box to have a quick peek when I got it. After I’ve watched your video I also think the new cover is darker (not so clear) comparing to the original.

Paul, I could not be thankful enough for your work to this site…You’ve been pivotal to my personal music collection. I really appreciate what you do and the quality involved in it.

I agree with your comments here. However I think it’s one of the best reissues so far: Quality of the box set itself, music included (I always wanted the MTV Unplugged in CD and some jewels in the form of B-sides and mixes), sound quality (I like what I hear) and hi-res download included (44.1/24bit)…This should be the way!!

I have the japanese version (now sold out) and the differences are:
1. CDs in Blu-spec CD 2. I’m not a believer of this japanese formats but I like the crystal clear sound.
2. All discs are within the classical plastic CD japanese sleeve to protect each one. I like this extra protection as the CD’s are in perfect condition for but they really look awful as the place in which they are inserted is exactly the same as the european version. They don’t fit so well.
3. The back cover (part of the horizontal OBI) is slightly different. Obviously everything is in japanese and includes extracts of the japanese essays included only in this version.
4. One bonus track in the MTV Unplugged disc: Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me (Live with Elton John). Great to have this song in CD in my collection!
5. An extra separated booklet (same size of the attached booklet) with the essays mentioned before, that also includes the lyrics for discs 2 and 3 in japanese and english.
6. A redeem card that allows you to download exclusively the Fantasy 2017 with Nile Rodgers in WAV format. Yes, only that track. I sent an inquiry to HMV and they confirmed me that according to the information released by the record maker, that was the only track available for Japan (with the help of a translator app, the OBI states so). Before I got any answer from them, I also contacted Push Entertainment asking for the complete download and luckily they sent me a new code. (The card included in the box states that the whole set is included in digital form… don’t know why not available in Japan).
7. It doubles the price of the european version =( I don’t really think it’s worth it. It’s a sold out limited edition, that’s the only additional value IMO.

I notice Amazon have now included a FULL (tracks from the 3 audio CD’s) free MP3 rip when you buy the 3cd 1 dvd Super Deluxe Version. The mp3 rip with the vinyl is just the original 10 tracks and the 2 cd rip is just that too – the first 2 cd’s! Someone commented about not getting the MP3 rip with the deluxe version but i can’t find it. Possibly I saw that comment on another thread about the LWP Vol. 1 re-release?

Ok, I adore GM…and because of that, I am absurdly disappointed that the expensive 4-disc box set gets screwed out of the new remix of “Fantasy!” So stupid that Sony pressed the 2CD version with it, but the box set just gets a download?!?!?

Sony should be fixing this by sending every single person who bought the box set a replacement disk. Now I still have to buy the 2-disc version just to get that song.

Admirers of the actual unplugged performance of ‘I Can’t Make you Love Me’ will be disappointed (to say the least)..

I had read some ascertions that the vocal was different, but ignored them – why would it be? After listening, it is clear the backing track is that from the unplugged performance, albeit slowed down slightly, with an entirely new vocal.

It is reminiscent of the vocal George recorded much later for the ‘Ladies & Gentlemen’ compilation from 1999 and clearly his preferred version.

George taking the liberty to swap out a vocal is perfectly in line with his perfectionist approach to releases, clearly he wanted to present this as the ultimate version, but the unplugged version it is not.

Both are gorgeous, how can this song with that voice not be? However, I adore the actual unplugged performance and believe it to be one of the finest I have ever heard him give. I guess I’ll just have to keep listening to inferior YouTube versions of it..

Can an audio expert please chime in and confirm the “remaster.” My regular human ears cant really hear a difference. I can usually tell a remaster apart from an original very quickly (ie: Prince – purple rain).
Im listening to the spotify versions and for me the “25” LWP tracks sounds clearer but maybe im just crazy.

Bought the 3 CD/DVD Super Deluxe Edition and was a bit disappointed with the presentation as well. Don’t really care for the dull album cover and the light writing on white paper. Woul have also liked to see George himself talk about each track. They clearly did not think the presentation through. I have only listened to the remastered album and MTV Unplugged so far. I thought the remastered album sounded a bit flat with not much bass my original CD from 1990 sounds much better in my opinion. MTV Unplugged sounded pretty good full and with bass. Happy to have the remixes and bonus material wish they would have included MTV Unplugged on the DVD as well. As Paul mentioned in the video it is a step up from the “Faith” Deluxe Edition.

Two songs from the MTV Unplugged show appeared on the CD single for Star People ’97 – Everything She Wants (4:37) and Star People (6:01). The two tracks on the MTV disc have timings of 5:13 and 6:15 respectively,

Hi All,
I rarely post but thought i would weigh in. The MTV concert is not even direct from the soundboard as can be evidenced from Star People still having the vocal fade for the F word.

The other thing to remember is that this concert was recorded by MTV and was likely recorderd in NTSC format. When it was originally broadcast then in the UK it would have suffered from PAL speed up as that is what happens in the process.

I agree some of the tracks sound a little different, having recently watched a copy of the concert, this could be because there were a number of concerts recorded at the same time, not least the Radio 1 special that was virtually identical, but in my opinion sounded better.

One oddity is that Fantasy is listed on disc 2 on the SDE(the MTV disc) so have sony reprinted the outer cover and not bothered replacing the disc…. this seems odd to say the least. It is almost like the recording was meant to be there but wasnt competed when the set was originally made?? Maybe paul can ask?

Reports say the SDE was already printed and warehoused prior to George’s death, and the new version of Fantasy had not been completed at that point. The 2-Disc set had not been manufactured yet, so they were able to include the disc with the track in that set, but relied on the download for the SDE. The frustrating part for those of us who would have liked to have had everything in one place is that Sony apparently saw fit to repackage the SDE’s to include the new tracklisting, but couldn’t have printed a bunch of extra copies of the disc and just inserted that instead. Manufacturing of discs is apparently inexpensive enough that major replacement campaigns when there are gross mistakes like Dead or Alive are completely feasible, so you would think Sony could have just taken care of the replacement in the process of repacking the already manufactured SDEs. The discs don’t even look different from one set to the next, so it wouldn’t have even resulted in an “oddball” disc.

But I can’t complain too much about it. My local FYE was carrying the 2-disc for $9.99US, and my membership card brought that down another dollar. So, yes, I paid nine bucks for one track, but that’s not all that far off from what we used to pay for CD singles in those wonder years, long ago, when such things were still being made.

This is one of my favourite albums ever, a timeless classic. I was 16 when it was released and to this day, these songs mean a lot to me. I do hope it goes to number 1 in the UK again. Very sad George Michael is unable to experience this moment.

Had to laugh at your 50 comment as I just turned 50 today. Sad that the box set was not available at my local record shops online it is. LWP is my second favorite album of all time followed by Main. Course by the. BeeGees.

I was surprised that the download was for the whole set, and not just the Fantasy 2017 track.

I was surprised that the downloads were in WAV format. Better sound, and I’m personally glad, but huge files for something you have to download in full!

It’s interesting that the download site describes the set as “MTV Unplugged Box” and has no mention of Listen Without Prejudice (except as the name of the files for CD1). That suggests where SONY are probably coming from with all the repositioning of the set with new sleeves, Nile Rodgers remixes, a 2CD edition, etc. This isn’t meant as a pure LWP reissue anymore.

The text in the book is a poor design concept (feint silver on gloss white), but not as far as my own failing eyesight can tell, an actual fault.

Given what some boxsets are costing these days, 3 audio CDs, 1 DVD and everything in WAV format for free, plus a nice-looking hardback book, seems an absolute steal for £30.

Now, let’s just hope there are no nasty surprises in the audio quality!

Great review/unboxing vid. Agree with most of what you said – can’t read the text clearly, terrible decision to crop the image etc.

My main gripe is with the MTV disc. As some have said, it’s not all from the original show. “I Can’t Make You Love Me?” is definitely not the same – it has a completely different vocal ending which is probably the most obvious bit. And this, for me, raises questions about what else has been changed, left out, tweaked etc. As i can’t read the notes they may well say that the MTV audio has been tampered with, but i’ll never know!

Plus, would have been good to get the MTV DVD too….but then i guess if they changed the audio that was never goung to happen.

Most of the “unboxing” videos I’ve seen here and on YouTube have been about the presentation aspect. If anyone wants sound quality comparisons, go to the Steve Hoffman forum. If you have the time to go thru 50 or 100 pages of posts comparing one version of an album to another to another and to another, go to Hoffman’s site. And I am only thinking of the multiple releases of T.Rex (Reprise, Cube, Disky, A&M, Universal, Edsel, Demon, Spirit, Marc On Wax – to name a few of the labels) & Bowie: Are the RCA’s better or worse than the EMI’s better or worse than the Parlophones or better or worse than a particular Deluxe version, etc., etc., etc.

Comparing sound quality is usually subjective unless you encounter a big screw up like Bowie’s Heroes.

Any more comments on I Can’t Make You Love Me? Some reports/ Amazon reviews claim it isn’t the MTV unplugged version at all but the studio-recorded version. It certainly sounds more like the latter than the former.

The 2-CD version is a bit odd. Emphasis seems to be more in the MTV Unplugged disc than Listen Without Prejudice, and of course the new artwork doesn’t help. The live disc should have been a separate release really, and the third disc should have been the second, but guessing that wouldn’t have been commercial enough.

I’m very happy to have the set, though that won’t stop me from complaining about it a bit. I am glad to see it not fall victim to the loudness wars, but this seems to almost go in the other direction. Comparing the sound to other contemporary reissues that haven’t been brickwalled but have been “boosted,” this sounds excessively quite. I had to crank the volume knob when I was listening to it.

And, of course, I’d always love to have more than what we get, but I am typically happy with what we’re given.

Strange decision just to discuss and compare the artwork and presentation with the original 1990 release and ignore the fundamental issue of sound quality comparison ,the cynic would suggest P.Sinclair has a vested commercial interest and is therefore not an impartial honest broker and the absence of a description of the sound mix suggests this release leaves alot to be desired
Personally i am very disappointed in the presentation of this release which has failed to remain faithful to the original and supplanted different era photos and recordings which i feel creates a product which can no longer be classified as a ‘reissue’ but merely a badly conceived ill prepared cash in of a shoddy cheap diluted disrespectful product
Yet again,another missed opportunity for a quality retrospective of this seminal record particulary in light of Georges passing

Nice try at conspiracy theory. Any regulars here should confirm that I just tell it as it is. An unboxing video can’t ‘show’ sound quality anyway!!? This video was about showing the product and making some hopefully useful comparisons with previous editions.

Re discussing the packaging, the clue is in the title of this website.
I don’t understand what you mean by saying this is another missed opportunity for a quality retrospective of this album, this is the first and only retrospective of this album.

I think they changed the cover of the double CD to maybe entice a new audience as well as the fans from way back – not sure why they couldn’t use an image from that era though. I remember in 1990 hating the cover of LWP and his decision not to appear in videos etc – he basically went from an iconic persona to nothing, all in the space of a year or so is pretty dramatic. We all understand the reasoning now but back then it made zero sense to me.

Overall, i’m really happy with the re-issue/remaster – the album way back was all about the music and so it is again. Can’t help but feel it’s all tinged with sadness though. Regarding the Older album, I hope that gets the deluxe treatment too – it has remixes galore (Plus five live, Papa/Killer, As and Outside from a couple of years before and after 1996) which is why I think they put MTV unplugged on LWP

It’s fairly standard practise to do the whole slipcase over the top of something ‘arty’ for commercial purposes. I just think that would have been a better approach. Maintain the integrity of the album art as issued, but widen appeal in shops with a nice big image of GM!

I thought it was a fairly nice touch all the tracks were available as downloads and not just the Nile Rodgers rework of ‘Fantasy’. Feels a quality item with the slide-out book and the CD wallets. OK, there’s some nitpicking on the image/why MTV unplugged was included, but hey, at least we’ve got the MTV tracks earlier than waiting for Older to be re-issued! Was MTV Unplugged ever released on DVD, anyone?

Great review, Paul. I was also perplexed by the download option – especially as it was listed as MP3 on the packaging and was actually 24-bit WAV file. Fine if you have unlimited broadband, but those zip file sizes. ouch!

Great package, only marred by presentation – the sleeve, the misspelling of “available” on the card, the inclusion of Fantasy at the end of disc 2 on the card as well.

I don’t think, musically, there’s anything else you could ask for from the era (apart from a recording from the era-specific Cover to Cover tour – instead of the unplugged).

That’s a big deal having 24 Bit downloads included, underlining the good value this set is. My broadband is slow enough to feel the pain of waiting for this content to load :-) Disappointed by the cover, but not a deal breaker.

Purchased the 24bit download from Qobuz. Sounds excellent especially the live set. I was never that mad on Wham but his solo recordings were always very well produced with fantastic bass and clean clear instrumentation. A very very sad loss to the music world.

After I received the Japanese blu-spec2 CD of Dead or Alive – Youthquacke I was stunned by the soundquality so I decided to cancel my German order of the George Michael box and ordered the Japan box as that will have the audio CD’s in blu-spec2 !

Paul – Your question about why they include a download code for all the tracks is easy to answer and fairly logical. The labels probably do this so that people can put these files on their iPod or whatever portable music listening device they have – thus saving them the time of ripping a CD (or if they don’t know how to). Also, many cars nowadays come with a USB port so that you can put in a USB stick and listening to music from that (which I do). It’s all about ease.

I also like getting the download codes for the same reason as you (particularly if it’s vinyl – really irritates me when vinyl editions come without a download code), but I do remember reading an article about download options and all the respondents (who were from a variety of record labels of varying sizes) mentioned the low take up of downloads – it seemed to hover around 15% of the codes available, and given the costs involved (server space, download bandwidth, etc) many were seriously considering dropping download options completely.

Nice review Paul and I completely agree with you re: some of the creative decisions made. As far as the content is concerned I think George and Sony have more or less nailed it. Like you I simply don’t understand why you would crop the original artwork and change it from sepia to greyscale. I also think the idea of changing the cover on the double-CD version doesn’t make sense. Surely they could have used the original for the front and back and used the images of George on the inside front and back cover. It sounds like I’m nit-picking but they’ve had ages to get this reissue right and I don’t think they’ve done the release justice by modifying such an iconic album cover.

By the way, I’m mightily impressed by the quality of your original album. It looks like you just bought it from the local record store yesterday!

Am looking forward to receiving my copy today. I find it strange too that the Older-era MTV Unplugged performance is included. Nice to have it all the same. I would LOVE there to be a Cover to Cover Tour live album and DVD release one day. There must be quality recordings of both, seeing as a few of the tracks did get released e.g ‘Killer /Papa Was a Rolling Stone’ , ‘Calling You’ and ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me’. Also, the Rock In Rio footage was broadcast in some countries on both radio and TV.

My uncle worked at CBS in the 80s, so I have plenty of George vinyl with that stamp on the back :-)

If might sound pedantic, but the design decisions really have swayed me into not purchasing in the immediate future. I’ll wait for the SDE to (hopefully) come down in price, and listen to the tracks on Spotify instead (sacrilege, I know!)

Nice unboxing Paul. Overall this looks pretty good value in super deluxe form. It’s just a bit frustrating about the cover and the Nile Rodgers track (note to everyone: if you’ve not seen the three part Nile Rodgers series that’s just been shown on BBC, you really should).

Anyway I’d like to thank you for highlighting the legibility issue on the lyrics. I was 31 when the original CD came out, so think how much trouble I’m going to have reading the new set! It would be good if you could keep the pressure up with record companies regarding legibility. None of us is getting any younger!

George Michael also did backing vocals on “Turn To Gold” by David Austin. I think it is uncredited to it will never be on a duets album. You can hear George all over that song. It sounds like a rejected Wham track. He also produced it.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV0hugsYt3k

There is also an album or E.P. called “Turn To Gold”. It contains 6 songs. George Michael wrote 2 of them and did backing vocals on “Love While You Can” (uncredited). Again, a total Wham song. It’s 5 songs plus the extended version of “Turn To Gold”. So “Turn To Gold” is on it twice.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFtids140PU

I just received my SDE copy of Listen Without Prejudice (bought from Amazon.com where it is still for sale for $31) and it struck me how good that album really is. With all the cd’s I buy, some of the older ones I stop playing because I got sick of it at the time and sort of forgot about it. As soon as I heard the first notes of “Praying For Time” I was like, ahhh, so so good. Every song is good, there is no filler.
Hopefully we get some unreleased GM material going forward. I’m very curious about those live tracks that David Austin was talking about from the Cover To Cover tour. We’ll see.
Thanks for the video Paul.

I found another GM penned song. It’s by Richenel, a Dutch transgender who had a big hit in the 80’s with “Dance Around The World”. The GM song is from 1989 and is called “Are You Just Using Me” and it beautiful!!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToXSRgno_h0

This seems to be a bit of a mess of a release really. You can’t fault the album – a classic, but I still can’t understand why MTV unplugged has being coupled with this album. Surely something like the wembley shows would have been appropriate. And why the change of cover with an image from George from a much later period.

I’m starting to wonder if we will get a SDE of ‘Older’ as that is where MTV Unplugged belongs. Plus there was some great tracks used as b-sides. It’s strange as in the documentary he said ‘Older’ was his creative peak (or something along those lines). Let’s see what happens

“Older” was reissued on Epic/Sony, same tracklist…I saw it at a local Barnes & Noble for like $5.99…I would buy it but I held off till I found out about a deluxe or not, but I may just get it cuz its cheap and sell it if a deluxe comes…this set looks great tho and its fairly cheap too…will get it by Christmas…maybe the Wham stuff will be deluxed as well??

There is a recent interview with David Austin (I think Music Week) where he said there would be a duets cd coming up. All 10 previously released tracks. He also said there are 23 tracks from the Cover To Cover shows mixed etc. And of the unreleased music two of the songs were great. Paraphrasing a bit but that was the gist.

Here is the information Paul. It’s from an interview with David Austin from the Herald Sun which is a newspaper from Melbourne.

WHAT’S IN THE VAULTS
George Michael was constantly working on songs through his whole career. However as a perfectionist, he’d only release what he was happy with, meaning (aside from compilations, singles and live records) he only released two albums with Wham! and five as a solo act.
There are many unreleased songs in the vaults, however Austin is cautious about discussing what will be heard.
There is a plan for a stand alone album featuring his 10 best duets — including Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Elton John and others — but nothing fans don’t already own.
Austin clarifies this is not the Trojan Souls project Michael had been working on in the early 90s.
After Michael’s death, a song called This Kind of Love leaked on line, destined for the project. One version had Elton John on vocals, another Michael himself.
It was planned to be part of an album called Trojan Souls — artists including John, Seal, Sade, Anita Baker and Stevie Wonder recording new George Michael songs.
However only the Elton track has leaked, although an 80 minute home video (featuring Anselmo) during the making of the album surfaced online before being removed.
However Austin says fans shouldn’t hold out hope for the Trojan Souls project.
“Trojan Souls doesn’t exist. It never existed. It was a recording made back in the day. We had copies of the multi tracks but the masters went missing which is why they always leak on the internet. The Trojan Souls thing will never happen, it was never going to happen. It was during a period … it was an idea after the Sony court case, George went on the Cover to Cover tour, he decided he wasn’t going to write for himself, he was going to write for other people.
“He had this idea, they got a deal with Warners. Then he decided he didn’t like the material and he didn’t want to do it. He gave the money Warners gave him back to them, I think it was a million dollars.”
Rather than a straight promotional tour for Listen Without Prejudice, 1991’s Cover to Cover tour featured a large number of cover versions (The Police’s Every Breath You Take, Culture Club’s Victims, Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne, the Eagles’ Desperado, Terence Trent D’Arby’s Sign Your Name and Stevie Wonder and Elton John songs as well as his own tunes. He would not tour again until 2006.
“There are 22 or 23 live tracks from the Cover to Cover tour that are simply amazing, finished and mixed and have never been heard before,” Austin says.
As far as unheard material — including songs Michael recorded in Sydney — Austin is cautious about discussing what may or may not be released.
“There are recordings, I won’t go into it too much, but there are a few recordings that are extraordinary pieces of writing. Extraordinary. They are finished, mastered, mixed and they’re sitting there.”
Listen Without Prejudice Volume 2 — originally planned to include Too Funky, Fantasy and other upbeat songs — also doesn’t exist.
“That was an early thought back in the day that didn’t materialise and got lost into the ether.”
However there is a chance of 30 minutes of extra footage being added to Freedom for a potential DVD release.

Technically, “Heaven Help Me” was billed as backing vocals too, though they are so prominent that I’ve always considered it a duet. It always flt as though the song got most of its attention because of his involvement (even though I think it’s a great song and that the album was woefully overlooked).

I read last night about the cover version of “I’m Your Man” by Lisa Moorish that George did backing vocals on, but once again they are so prominent that it could be a duet. The track was the model he built on for his own “I’m Your Man ’96_ that was on the b-side of the “Fastlove” single and the If You Were There Wham! collection. Listened to it online, and it’s not great, but not awful. It’s better without her involvement.